GLATOS

Parry Sound Aquaculture

Project Title

Quantifying net-pen aquaculture effects on eutrophication, wild fish movement and diet

Project Code

HAQUA

Project Duration

April 2024 - June 2026

Project Description

Establish a 69 kHz VPS receiver array in Parry Sound to assess behaviour and spatial distribution of lake trout and lake whitefish relative to an existing net pen aquaculture facility. Approximately 30 lake trout and lake whitefish will be tagged annually with V13P transmitters.

Objectives

1) Characterize wild fish movement around net pen aquaculture 2) Use biotracers (stable isotopes, fatty acids, genomics) to characterize energy subsidies (food and feces) to food web 3) Quantify inputs and outputs of C, N, P for net pen operations to assess water quality and food web effects 4) Quantify individual and population level metrics of fish growth, biomass and condition proximal to net pen operations

Management Benefits

Quantitative information on effects of net pen aquaculture on water quality and food webs

Investigators

Tim Johnson (Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry) - tim.johnson@ontario.ca
Aaron Fisk (University Of Windsor - Great Lakes Institute For Environmental Research)
Neil Rooney (University Of Guelph)

Participating Organizations

University of Guelph
University of Windsor
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry

Funding

Great Lakes Fishery Commission
Ontario Special Purposes Account - Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry
Realtime Aquatic Ecosystem Observation Network (RAEON) - University of Windsor
Ocean Tracking Network